Erin F. Wasinger

Our The Year of Small Things perfectly encapsulates the discord between spiritual disciplines and parenthood. For instance: that time our families tried praying with a live candle. Also, the time we had zero energy left to form words, let alone prayers. See also: the time Sarah’s husband remarked that his spiritual life was more Daniel Tiger than the prophet Daniel … on and on.

So we’re thrilled that we got to be in conversation with our Redbud Writers Guild colleague, Catherine McNiel. Catherine’s written a book that speaks to the desire for God in our current realities, and reminds us that God meets us in that everyday chaos. So, so good. Read on and listen to the podcast interview:

Thank you! I’m a mom with three kids (and a few part-time jobs). I love to read and garden. I love to study theology and ancient cultures. I’m always trying to learn something new. I enjoy getting to know my neighbors and learning how different people see the world. I love to explore how theology impacts our real, physical lives…and how our real lives impact theology. I’m enamored by the creation of new life but find that working in the garden is less exhausting than pregnancy. ☺

Now, introduce us to your book Long Days of Small Things: Motherhood as a Spiritual Discipline.

Long Days of Small Things is a book that looks at the real life work we do in our everyday lives, and finds God right here in the midst of it. It’s a book for moms (or dads…or grandparents…or caregivers…) who know they don’t have any extra time or energy, but still want a way to connect with God and discover how to find Him.

How do you do that in Long Days of Small Things?

In each chapter I tell stories from our real lives—the seasons and stages of motherhood, pregnancy and delivery, infant days, sleepless nights, caring for children of all ages—and the tasks that fill them. I look at spiritual tools that already hide there—like sacrifice, surrender, service, perseverance, and celebration—and consider how we can open our eyes to the spiritual boot camp we walk through every day. Without adding anything extra to our live or to-do lists, we practice so many disciplines every moment of the day.

Why did you decide to write Long Days of Small Things: Motherhood as a Spiritual Discipline?

A few years ago I was a work-from-home mom with a baby, a toddler, and a preschooler. These precious, demanding children took me all the way to the end of my rope…and left me there indefinitely! My life changed in every way, yet I heard only the same spiritual prescriptions I’d always heard: spend quiet time each day with God. Find 30-60 minutes each day to be in silence and solitude before the Lord. As I considered the classic spiritual practices (which I love!)—prayer, worship, fasting, meditation, service, solitude, etc.—it became abundantly clear that the realities of motherhood meant I was likely to fail. Or opt out entirely.

But my spirit didn’t allow me to do that. I heard a lament rising in the hearts of the women around me—I have nothing left, nothing left to care for myself or give to God. But as I looked at the actual seasons and tasks of motherhood, I was convinced that there was no better “boot camp” for my soul. Each day we mothers create, we nurture. Each day we are pushed to the end of ourselves and must surrender, sacrifice, and persevere. Each day we serve, pouring ourselves out. We empty ourselves for those in our care—and isn’t this emptiness the very reliance on God that the spiritual disciplines are designed to produce?

I’m convinced that motherhood is doing an eternal work on my soul, even if I’m too exhausted and overwhelmed to notice just now.

How is this book different from all the other books and conversations out there regarding motherhood today?

There are so many books out there for moms on the topic of devotion and spirituality. Almost all of them have this in common: after admitting that moms are exhausted, stretched too thin, without any margin or time or energy, they look for a few extra minutes here or there which might be harvested for God; or offer a Bible study or prayer list that might fit in the tiny slots. Get up at 4:30am before the baby wakes at 5am! Read two minutes of the Bible each day!

I’m all for doing these things when it works, but I’m convinced that we don’t need to exit motherhood to have a spiritual life. Our children are what we create, and this is where our Creator God meets us. I’m certain of it. Without adding more “should’s” or “to-do’s” to our days, we can open our eyes to a unique spiritual journey, made just for us—and find him here. We’re already doing it. All that waits is for us to breathe deeply and being to drink.

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Catherine McNiel is the author of Long Days of Small Things: Motherhood as a Spiritual Discipline (NavPress, 2017). Catherine cares for three kids, works two jobs, and grows one enormous garden. Connect with her at Catherinemcniel.com.

The more ways you spread The Year of Small Things love, the more likely you are to come out a winner. Literally.

Join us for Saturday’s book signing at Barnes and Noble to pick up a copy (or two) of the book and have it signed by Sarah Arthur and Erin Wasinger. As a thank you for stopping by, we local authors will be giving away TWO $10 Barnes and Noble gift cards!

We’re in practice signing books thanks to Church in a Pub’s book signing.

To enter to win, complete any or all of the prompts listed below. The more you do, the better chance you have for walking out with that gift card!

Saturday’s small things, should you accept:

Bring a friend (you both get an entry!)

Sign up at our table to receive our blog (or put down your email anyway if you already subscribe)

Take a selfie with Erin or Sarah and/ or the book, inside the store (sorry, Mom, you can’t just post my old school photos)

Show us that you posted the photo to Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #yearofsmallthings

Let us video record you answering this question: “What one small thing are you doing this month?”

We’ll do the drawing at 2:55 PM-ish, and you don’t have to be present to win.

The Year of Small Things is at its essence a church story. The Arthurs and the Wasingers, who committed to a year of small things, don’t operate independent of Sycamore Creek Church. Our prayers and other spiritual disciplines don’t replace worshiping with our people in Lansing and Potterville. So, you can imagine the energy fueling our five-week series.

Fun part: the energy didn’t come from having me and Sarah preach each message. (We didn’t.) Our fellow Sycamore Creek-ers love us, but they are not impressed by us. They’ve seen us trip over a minuscule patch of ice in the parking lot. Spill our coffee. They’ve heard us sing off-key. We have zero celebrity cred.

The energy fueling the series came from a group of people — small groups of people — who are together reading the book and meeting to talk about the small things they’d like to see in their own lives. Imaginations are quicker to spark when discussions are happening in community.

The book makes a great study or series because of its community-oriented nature. So — interested in plugging in a sermon series? Here are the nuts and bolts: The Year of Small Things series is a five-week study of the themes of the book by the same name (we chose covenantal friendship, hospitality, vows, kid monasticism, and self-care). Because our churches are wonderfully diverse (and most don’t know what new monasticism is), we centered our sermons around Hebrews 13, which touches on just about every theme.

One of the crucial components of The Year of Small Things is starting your own year of small things with other people. In the book we use the phrase “covenantal friendship” to describe the kind of relationship where you and another person (or a couple people) promise to hold each other accountable to certain practices.

Hoping to get out of debt? Your covenantal friend’s going to ask you how that’s going.

Struggling to discern what hospitality looks like in your life? Your covenantal friend is going to pray about that with you and offer some ideas. Then he’s going to circle back in a month and ask again. And again.

Get the idea? A Year of Small Things is more doable when you’re not a lone ranger.

A great way to kick-start a conversation that can lead to a covenantal friendship is a book discussion group.

Don’t overthink this — this can be as organize as a small group (a life group) through your church or as casual as talking about the book on your couch with your best friend. Whatever your discussion group looks like, here are four ways to get the most out of your time together:

Listen more than you speak. Take a note from us – if someone’s venting about how hard it is to get out of debt, don’t interrupt with seven ways they could boost their income or that story you love to tell about the time you went debt-free. That’s an awesome story, but save it for later. Practice the art of listening: respond with a suggestion, a gentle correction, or a word of encouragement as the Spirit compels you, but be slow to interrupt. Active listening wins points, too: sum up what your friend’s said before continuing on so they know you’re understanding their intentions (or they can clarify when you’re a bit off).

When you’re thinking about your small things, remember to keep it small. For instance, don’t make the mistake in the Just Living chapter of making your goal to end world hunger. I hear you, but I’m wondering if it’s instead a better idea to give a grocery store gift card to that family you know who is struggling?

Go back and read the full stories in the bible that we reference. Scripture’s a powerful way to keep the focus on what God’s doing through and saying to you, and not on how impossible your small things might seem.

Go slow. The book covers a year. Reading the book quickly and expecting to start a bunch of new habits and practices isn’t going to be sustainable. Instead, read it all at once if you want, but pace yourself for starting new projects or goals. A calendar can help; so can returning to your book club throughout a year to check in.

And hey, if you’re encouraged by the book, would you kindly leave a review about it on Goodreads or Amazon? We appreciate you sharing the love.

Welcome to the world, The Year of Small Things: Radical Faith for the Rest of Us!

Sarah Arthur and Erin F. Wasinger are proud to announce that The Year of Small Things (Brazos Press) is in stores/ online today! The bundle of new monastic, love-your-neighbor, follow-Jesus-right-where-you-are joy could be in your hands now.

Friends, we present you today with 5 small things you won’t want to miss sharing, reading, listening to, or participating in before The Year of Small Things‘s launch day (in two weeks!!).

The feeling of “is this really happening” met its apex last week when at our weekly dinner with the Arthurs, YoST marketing guru and our project editor surprised us with dessert and copies of The Year of Small Things: Radical Faith for the Rest of Us. The! Real! Book! Soon you’ll have your own in hand … Ah, that new-book smell.

Erin’s mom, Phyllis, cradled her latest grandchild last weekend on a visit to Lansing. Erin made her leave the book here. #buyyourown #jk #ErinalreadyhasaMothersDaygiftidea

OK, small talk over. Let’s get to those 5 things:

Dudes, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove’s on the NEW Small Things podcast! Sarah and I interviewed him about his upcoming visit to our home church, Sycamore Creek Church, in Lansing, Mich. Listen to a preview of what he’ll be sharing with our church and guests at the link above or in the player to the right —>

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

Plan on joining Sycamore Creek in a workshop on this new monasticism thing, community, and hospitality! The basics: Sunday, Jan. 29, 9:30 and 11 AM worship service with Sarah & special guest Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. Then, 12:30 — Lunch and Jonathan’s workshop. Be there! (More details here.)

Join the discussion about the Year of Small Things with our Facebook group. Fill that puppy with questions, conversation starters, your #yearofsmallthings photos and more. Sarah and I frequent the page and we love to interact with our readers.

We’re just beginning to get requests for book signings and author events. We’re keeping you in the know on our calendar here(and below). To request us to speak, visit, smile-and-be-friendly, talk, etc., fill out this Year of Small Things Speaker Request form.

Have you pre-ordered your copy (and asked friends to)? All our pre-ordering folks get a special gift from our team: a Small Things companion calendar. Details here.

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove will be coming to Lansing, Mich., to join Erin and Sarah’s church community in a conversation about hospitality, new monasticism, and The Year of Small Things.

Jonathan — who penned the foreword for The Year of Small Things— will join Sycamore Creek Church Sunday, Jan. 29, in opening its five-week series on the book’s themes. He’ll join us at SC’s South Lansing location during worship for a discussion with Sarah Arthur about covenantal friendship. A similar message by Erin Wasinger will be held that same morning at SC’s Potterville campus.

At 12:30 p.m. our venue at 1919 S Pennsylvania Ave., Jonathan will then lead a workshop that will dive deeper on practices such as hospitality and community. Join us for this one-time opportunity to hear from one of the voices who influence Sarah and Erin thanks to his leadership in new monasticism.

(Fun fact: Jonathan’s The Wisdom of Stability is the book that started Sarah’s and Erin’s discussion about the feasibility of new monasticism in our own lives. Geek moment.)

Jonathan is a celebrated spiritual author and sought-after speaker. In 2003, Jonathan and his wife Leah founded the Rutba House, in Durham, N.C., a house of hospitality where the formerly homeless are welcomed into a community that eats, prays, and shares life together. Jonathan directs the School for Conversion, an organization that has grown out of the life of Rutba House to pursue beloved community with kids in their neighborhood, through classes in North Carolina prisons, and in community-based education around the country. He is also an Associate Minister at the historically black St. Johns Missionary Baptist Church.

Jonathan is a co-compiler of the celebrated Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, and is the author of several books on Christian spirituality, including The Awakening of Hope, The Wisdom of Stability, and The New Monasticism. Bio courtesy of his website.

Admission is free, but a freewill offering will be taken toward event costs.

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At Sycamore Creek Church you’ll hear great music and practical, understandable teaching all in an informal setting. Read: Engaging messages, Paramount Coffee bar, a professionally staffed nursery, and a great kids’ program = the best way to spend a Sunday. We are one church in multiple locations:

The Year of Small Things: Radical Faith for the Rest of Us releases in 25-ish days, friends, not that we’re counting. Sarah and I are so grateful for all the posts, shares, likes, and tweets about the book so far. Your words are helping us create a conversation about a topic that many don’t know about. Good work!

Small things — 12 small but radical faith practices — are much more likely to grab my imagination than big stuff at this stage, amiright?

But I lose my mind when files take too long to download.

Here’s the problem: discernment, community-building, and growing ever closer to Jesus take time. Like a lifetime.

So — here’s one of my favorite phrases: incremental progress.

One of my (Erin’s) favorite things to do is witness with my own eyes incremental progress over time in my Instagram feed (Erin: @SomeWonderland & Sarah: @HolyDreaming). Last year my youngest was a chubby 3-year-old; my third-grader was missing her top teeth. We forget how far we’ve come when we only look at where we are now. And that’s just physical growth: if I scroll back to 2014, I sense my own anxiety over things I now see God’s hand in. Whoa.

We invite you, advance readers and fans, to join other Year of Small Things fans in posting pics on Instagram/ Twitter/ Facebook (using the hashtag #yearofsmallthings) as you reflect or are inspired by the book.

Use your own ideas of stuff to snap a photo of, or simply follow some prompts we’ve suggested below. (Post as often as you’d like — no pressure. Only fun.) We’ll feature some #yearofsmallthings photos on here as we’re underway!

Send these graphics whirling around the Twittersphere, bloggosphere, Facebookland, or wherever else you cool cats are hanging out nowadays. Heck, print one and tack it on your fridge. Or your church’s fridge. We have faith your creativity will guide you.

We appreciate your help spreading some of our words. May they spark conversations and imaginations in others as we start to think about our 2017s.

To use: Click the image you want to share — a new page will open with just the image you chose. Right-click and save. Share. Repeat!

Remember to use the hashtag #yearofsmallthings wherever you’re posting!